Investors welcomed news that the nation's trade deficit narrowed in April. The markets traded higher with the Dow soaring 121 points to 12,170 while Nasdaq gained 14 points to 2690.
On the upside
Coffee Holding (Nasdaq: JVA) reported higher second quarter earnings as revenue surged.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Talbots (NYSE: TLB), whose stock price dropped the last two days after the women's apparel retailer issued a disappointing outlook.
UBS upgraded Elan (NYSE: ELN) to a Buy rating.
On the downside
Shares of Renren (NYSE: RENN) fell after brokerage firms raised the margin requirements on Chinese stocks.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BPAX) completed enrollment in its LibiGel cardiovascular and breast cancer safety study but the stock price fell.
Brazilian regulator Carlos Ragazzo said that the $3.8 billion merger in 2009 that formed BRF Brasil Foods (NYSE: BRFS) violated antitrust rules.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 6 points to 794.
